December 4, 2017

As Vancouver moves forward on a new housing plan that includes increasing the amount of lower-income units added to condo buildings, the city’s chief planner says his department will be taking a second look at the practice of building separate entrances for each portion of the building.

“In general, sometimes it works well to have separate buildings, in other cases it doesn’t, and we’re going to be looking at these kinds of design rules to make sure this is housing for everyone at all levels of income,” said Gil Kelley.

On Nov. 23, Metro reported on a proposed condo building at the corner of Thurlow and Burnaby St. in Vancouver’s West End neighbourhood. The building, which is being developed by The Strand and Intracorp, would have 82 market condo units and 39 social housing units.

The two components would have separate entrances, a design that’s become common in several Vancouver developments but has often attracted criticism. In addition, the Thurlow and Burnaby project would have separate playground areas that are not accessible to either side. That concerned Judy Graves, the city’s now-retired advocate for the homeless.